BFC to run under Film London

Iain Smith to head advisory board

LONDON – As Film London, the U.K. capital’s film and media agency, gears up to take on the shuttered U.K. Film Council’s role of encouraging investment in the British film biz, it has unveiled a new strategy to manage the duty.

The British Film Commission, which worked under the UKFC to bring foreign industryites and studios to shoot in the U.K., will now operate under Film London.

In a bid to create a seamless transition, Film London has announced the creation of a British Film Commission advisory board, headed by producer Iain Smith.

Smith, whose credits include “The A-Team” and “Children of Men,” will chair the board, which will continually examine the strategy, policy and delivery objectives of the BFC.

Film London hopes this will clear up confusion about the BFC’s status as a national org, even though it’s operating under the umbrella of a regional body.

The BFC will be a public-private partnership backed by the government plus key industry bodies, including Pinewood Studios Group, U.K. Screen Assn. and producers’ org Pact.

The BFC will continue to receive funding from the government’s Culture, Media and Sport Dept., via the British Film Institute, which is taking the reigns from the UKFC on Friday.

Joining Smith on the board are reps from Warner Bros., Pinewood Shepperton, the National Screen Agencies for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, BFI director Amanda Nevill, Pact CEO John McVay and Creative England chair John Newbigin alongside Film London chair and producer David Parfitt.

The BFC will be based at Film London’s central London offices. Andy Weltman will continue to head its Los Angeles office.